My mother is in the first stages of Alzheimer's. This is my way of "dealing" with the (now daily) frustrations and difficulties of living with a parent who is on the slow road to losing herself.

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Of J-Cloths and Saffron

"I never use J-Cloths." she says.

Then how is is that one day I use a J-Cloth and hang it over the drying rack and two days later it is missing?

"Not using" something, I point out, is not the same as "having put it someplace".

"I haven't made curry in years. So why would I have done anything with the saffron?" she says.

Then why did I find the saffron in a cupboard (not the one we keep spices in) and not in the box we keep it in

"Not using" something, I point out, is not the same as "having put it someplace".

The last time we had this discussion over J-Cloths (which I use because they are light, dry quickly, and aren't liable to fall off the rack and sit festering in the sink and so I don't have to use the heavy dishcloths she favors, precisely because they ARE heavy, don't dry quickly and fall off the rack and sit festering in the bottom of the sink -- or, equally likely, a pan full of filthy water), the offending cloth was found several days later on the bookcase where she left it whilst using it to wet-dust.

"I never use J-Cloths." she says.

"I haven't made curry in years. So why would I have done anything with the saffron?" she says.